Health At Fast Food Restaurants

Introduction To Our Project

Trigger Warning: This blog post discusses eating, food, and nutrition

Driving down any American city or town, there are fast food restaurants lining the streets. Faced with time constraints from work, childcare, and commuting, many people often turn to convenience foods to save time. Although these restaurants offer a solution to lost time in terms of food preparation and clean up, they simultaneously propose a new problem: a poor diet. According to a 2015 review, fast food is often high in sugar, salt, saturated or trans fats, and many processed preservatives, while also lacking beneficial nutrients. The goal of this blog is to answer the question: “Which fast food items from various restaurants best fit health-conscious dietary needs?” By categorizing all of the menu items at the most popular fast-food restaurants, we aim to provide readers with information that might influence their next order. Should you find yourself at Arbys, Burger King, Chick-Fil-A, Dairy Queen, McDonald’s, Sonic, Subway, or Taco Bell, we hope that you’ll be equipped with exactly what you need to know in order to stick to your health goals.

For reference, here are the average daily requirements for various types of nutrition:

  • Calories: 2000-2500 kcal/day for men, and 1600-2000 kcal/day for women.
  • Protein: 0.8-1.0 g/kg of body weight/day.
  • Carbohydrates: 45-65% of total daily calories, or at least 130 g/day.
  • Fat: 20-35% of total daily calories, or at least 20-35 g/day.
  • Cholesterol: Less than 300 milligrams per day for most adults, and less than 200 milligrams per day for individuals with heart disease or high blood cholesterol levels.
  • Sodium: Less than 2,300 milligrams per day for most adults, and less than 1,500 milligrams per day for individuals with high blood pressure, kidney disease, or other health conditions.
  • Sugar: the American Heart Association recommends no more than 25 grams per day for women and 38 grams per day for men.

Our data is from Kaggle and was created for the purpose of analyzing the health of different fast food items. It can be found at this link: (https://www.kaggle.com/datasets/ulrikthygepedersen/fastfood-nutrition), where you can view other variables that were not a part of our analysis if you are interested in exploring further.

A possible limitation of our data analysis is the fact that the nutritional information or availability of certain menu items could differ depending on the location. Our data does not account for this variability. Another limitation is that we focus on two kinds of nutrients at a time. It is difficult to get a total picture of health when you are only given enough information to compare two health components. To remedy this, we provide a matrix of plots with comparisons for all our variables at the end of each restaurant’s analysis.

Arbys

Information About Clusters:

calories protein size withinss cluster
483.8462 26.30769 13 35928.46 1
950.0000 46.00000 3 19834.00 2
678.3333 37.29167 24 71350.29 3
258.6667 15.60000 15 76084.93 4
Group 1 Bring on the calories and protein! Group 3 If you’re on a diet . . .
Arby-Q Sandwich Pecan Chicken Salad Sandwich Beef ’n Cheddar Mid Arby’s Melt
Beef ’n Cheddar Classic Triple Decker Sandwich Bourbon BBQ Brisket Sandwich Classic Roast Beef
Buttermilk Buffalo Chicken Sandwich Ultimate BLT Bourbon BBQ Chicken Sandwich Ham & Swiss Melt
Buttermilk Crispy Chicken Sandwich Bourbon BBQ Steak Sandwich 2 piece Prime-Cut Chicken Tenders
Classic French Dip & Swiss/Au Jus Buttermilk Chicken Bacon & Swiss 3 piece Prime-Cut Chicken Tenders
Double Roast Beef Buttermilk Chicken Cordon Bleu Sandwich Buffalo Chicken Slider
Grand Turkey Club Fire-Roasted Philly Steak Chicken Tender ’n Cheese Slider
Roast Beef Gyro Greek Gyro Corned Beef ’n Cheese Slider
Roast Turkey & Swiss Wrap Half Pound Beef ’n Cheddar Sandwich Ham ’n Cheese Slider
Super Roast Beef Half Pound French Dip & Swiss Jalapeno Roast Beef ’n Cheese Slider
Turkey Gyro Half Pound Roast Beef Sandwich Pizza Slider
Crispy Chicken Farmhouse Salad Loaded Italian Sandwich Roast Beef ’n Cheese Slider
Greek Gyro Salad Pecan Chicken Salad Flatbread Turkey ’n Cheese Slider
5 piece Prime-Cut Chicken Tenders Chopped Side Salad
Reuben Sandwich Roast Turkey Farmhouse Salad
Roast Turkey & Swiss Sandwich
Roast Turkey, Ranch & Bacon Sandwich
Roast Turkey, Ranch & Bacon Wrap
Smoke Mountain w/ Beef Short Rib
Smokehouse Beef Short Rib Sandwich
Smokehouse Brisket
Three Cheese Steak Sandwich
Turkey Avocado Club
Super Greek Salad

Looking Over All The Variables

Burger King

Information About Clusters:

calories protein size withinss cluster
654.8148 30.37037 27 247228.4 1
345.5172 16.27586 29 198721.0 2
1052.3077 59.92308 13 384341.7 3
Average For Burger King On the Richer Side Most Fatty/Calorie Dense Items
Bacon King Jr Bacon Cheeseburger American Brewhouse King
Double Bacon Cheeseburger Bacon Cheeseburger Deluxe Bacon & Swiss Sourdough King
Extra Long Cheeseburger Cheeseburger Bacon King
Homestyle Cheeseburger Double Cheeseburger BBQ Bacon King
Sourdough King Single Double Hamburger Double Quarter Pound King
Bacon & Cheese Whopper Hamburger Jalapeno King Sandwich
WHOPPER w/o Cheese Rodeo Burger Mushroom & Swiss King
WHOPPER w/ Cheese WHOPPER JR. w/o Cheese Rodeo King
Bacon Cheddar Ranch Chicken Salad w/ grilled Chicken & Dressing WHOPPER JR. w/ Cheese Sourdough King Double
Bacon Cheddar Ranch Chicken Salad w/ crispy Chicken & Dressing Garden Grilled Chicken Salad w/ Grilled Chicken, no dressing Steakhouse King
Chicken BLT Salad w/ Grilled Chicken Garden Grilled Chicken Salad w/ Crispy Chicken, no dressing DOUBLE WHOPPER w/o Cheese
Chicken BLT Salad w/ Crispy Chicken Side Caesar Salad with dressing DOUBLE WHOPPER w/ Cheese
Chicken Caesar Salad w/ Grilled Chicken Side Garden Salad and Avocado Ranch Dressing 20 Piece Chicken Nuggets
Chicken Caesar Salad w/ Crispy Chicken BBQ Bacon Crispy Chicken Sandwich
Chicken, Apple & Cranberry Salad w/ Grilled Chicken BK VEGGIE Burger
Chicken, Apple & Cranberry Salad w/ Crispy Chicken Chicken Burger
Bacon Cheddar Ranch Crispy Chicken Sandwich Chicken Fries
Big Fish Sandwich 4 Piece Chicken Nuggets
Chicken Cordon Bleu Sandwich 6 Piece Chicken Nuggets
Chicken Parmesan Sandwich Chicken Nuggets (10pc)
Crispy Buffalo Chicken Melt Crispy Chicken Jr. 
Crispy Chicken Sandwich Grilled Chicken Sandwich
Original Chicken Sandwich Grilled Chili Cheese Dog
Sourdough Chicken Club Grilled Hot Dog
Spicy Chicken Nuggets Jalapeno Chicken Fries
Spicy Crispy Chicken Sandwich Pretzel Chicken Fries
Spicy Crispy Jalapeno Chicken Sandwich Rodeo Crispy Chicken Sandwich
4 Piece Spicy Chicken Nuggets
Spicy Crispy Chicken Jr. 

Looking Over All The Variables

Chick-Fil-A

Information About Clusters:

calories protein size withinss cluster
850.0000 63.33333 3 33800.67 1
435.7143 32.78571 14 56567.21 2
173.0000 20.70000 10 42806.10 3
Average For Chick-Fil-A On the Richer Side Most Fatty/Calorie Dense Items
30 piece Chicken Nuggets Chargrilled Chicken Club Sandwich Chick-n-Slider
Chicken Enchiladas Meal Kit Chargrilled Chicken Sandwich 1 Piece Chick-n-Strips
Chicken Parmesan Meal Kit 3 Piece Chick-n-Strips 2 Piece Chick-n-Strips
4 piece Chick-n-Strips 4 piece Chicken Nuggets
Chicken Deluxe 6 piece Chicken Nuggets
12 piece Chicken Nuggets 8 piece Chicken Nuggets
Chicken Salad Sandwich 4 Piece Grilled Chicken Nuggets
Chicken Sandwich 6 Piece Grilled Chicken Nuggets
Spicy Grilled Chicken Sub Sandwich 8 piece Grilled Chicken Nuggets
Regular Grilled Chicken Sub Sandwich 12 Piece Grilled Chicken Nuggets
Smokehouse BBQ Bacon Sandwich
Spicy Chicken Sandwich
Spicy Deluxe
Chargrilled Chicken Cool Wrap

Looking Over All The Variables

Dairy Queen

Calories and Total Fat

Graphing the Clusters:

Information About Clusters:

Calories Total_Fat Size Withiness cluster
568.5714 30.64286 14 38534.64 1
812.5000 49.00000 4 13481.00 2
1085.0000 67.00000 4 42410.00 3
340.5556 17.61111 18 45680.72 4
85.0000 1.00000 2 8452.00 5
Average For Dairy Queen On the Richer Side Most Fatty/Calorie Dense Items Lower Calorie and Fat Items The Few Low Calorie/Fat Items
1/4 lb. Bacon Cheese GrillBurger 1/2 lb. GrillBurger with Cheese 1/2 lb. FlameThrower® GrillBurger Original Cheeseburger Grilled Chicken Garden Greens Salad
1/4 lb. GrillBurger with Cheese Chili Cheese Mega Dog 4 Piece Chicken Strip Basket w/ Country Gravy Bacon Cheese Dog Side Salad
1/4 lb. Mushroom Swiss GrillBurger DQ Ultimate® Burger 6 Piece Chicken Strip Basket w/ Country Gravy Cheese Dog
Original Double Cheeseburger Steak Finger Basket Large Cheese Curds Chili Cheese Dog
Regular Cheese Curds Chili Dog
Crispy Fish Sandwich Hot Dog
Deluxe Double Cheeseburger Relish Dog
Deluxe Double Hamburger Barbecue Pork Sandwich
Pork Tenderloin Sandwich Breaded Mushrooms
Chicken Bacon Ranch Sandwich Corn Dog
Chicken Mozzarella Sandwich Deluxe Cheeseburger
Crispy Chicken BLT Salad Deluxe Hamburger
Crispy Chicken Sandwich 3 chicken strips Chicken Strips
Turkey BLT Sandwich Crispy Chicken Garden Greens Salad
Crispy Chicken Wrap
Grilled Chicken BLT Salad
Grilled Chicken Sandwich
Grilled Chicken Wrap

Which Menu Items Should I Order?:

While Dairy Queen is most known for their perfect swirls of soft-serve ice cream, many locations have a full fast food menu. In my graph and tables above, all 42 menu items offered at Dairy Queen across the country are grouped together into five different clusters based on their total calories and total fat. The first cluster contains 14 menu items, which are listed under “Average for Dairy Queen” This is labeled this way because these menu items have an average of 568.5714 calories per serving, and 30.64 grams of fat, which is right in the middle for these five groups. If you find yourself at a Dairy Queen and want to feel full and don’t mind consuming a bunch of calories and fat, choosing an item from this list would be a good idea. The second cluster is labeled “On the Richer Side” and these menu items contain an average of 812.5 calories and 49 grams of total fat. These four items contain the second-highest average amount of calories and fat for Dairy Queen. So, if you are at Dairy Queen, and want to have a large meal that is very satisfying, these four items may be a good choice. The third cluster also contains four items, which have an average of 1,085 calories, and 67 grams of total fat. This is labeled “Most Fatty/Calorie Dense Items” because these four items are the items with the highest calories and fat that DQ offers. So, if you plan on ordering any of these four items, I would be informed that you are consuming a lot of fat and a lot of calories. The fourth Cluster is labeled “lower calorie and fat food items” because it contains some of the least rich items on the menu. These items have an average of 340.5556 calories and only 17.611 grams of total fat. These 18 items would be a good choice for anyone who is looking to have a lighter meal and still feel satisfied after eating it. The fifth and final Category is labeled “The Few Low Calorie/Fat Items” and contains the two salads that Dairy Queen has to offer. These two salads have an average of 85 calories and only 1 gram of fat. So, if you are on a diet or want a small snack while at Dairy Queen, these two options are perfect for you.

Looking Over All The Variables

What Does This Mean:

Above one can look at the relationship between each of the seven variables that are most important for looking at the health of the food that you are eating. These components are calories, total fat, protein, cholesterol, sodium, total carbs, and sugar. While this graph is a lot to look at, it allows you to focus on two of the variables that matter most to you. For example, if you are most interested in sugar, you can see that almost all of the food items contain the same amount of sugar, so this variable may not be that interesting because it does not change much depending on which food item. Looking at this graph is why total fat and calories are highlighted in the graph above. It is clear that these two have a very high positive linear correlation and the clusters are clearly separated from one another.

Mcdonalds

Calories and Total Fat

Graphing The Clusters:

Describing the Clusters:

Calories Total_Fat Size Withiness cluster
714.5455 34.59091 22 277310.8 1
2430.0000 141.00000 1 0.0 2
383.7931 17.68966 29 421023.0 3
1444.0000 79.60000 5 289577.2 4
Average For McDonalds The Fattiest and Most Calorie Dense Item on the Menu Least Fatty/Calorie Dense Items High Calories and Fat
Single Bacon Smokehouse Burger 20 piece Buttermilk Crispy Chicken Tenders Artisan Grilled Chicken Sandwich Double Bacon Smokehouse Burger
Grilled Bacon Smokehouse Chicken Sandwich Big Mac 10 piece Buttermilk Crispy Chicken Tenders
Crispy Bacon Smokehouse Chicken Sandwich Cheeseburger 12 piece Buttermilk Crispy Chicken Tenders
Double Quarter Pounder® with Cheese Classic Chicken Sandwich 40 piece Chicken McNuggets
Garlic White Cheddar Burger Double Cheeseburger 10 piece Sweet N’ Spicy Honey BBQ Glazed Tenders
Crispy Garlic White Cheddar Chicken Sandwich Filet-O-Fish®
Maple Bacon Dijon 1/4 lb Burger Grilled Garlic White Cheddar Chicken Sandwich
Grilled Maple Bacon Dijon Chicken Sandwich Hamburger
Crispy Maple Bacon Dijon Chicken Sandwich Lobster Roll
Pico Guacamole 1/4 lb Burger McChicken
Crispy Pico Guacamole Chicken Sandwich McDouble
Premium Buttermilk Crispy Chicken Deluxe Sandwich McRib
Signature Sriracha Burger Grilled Pico Guacamole Chicken Sandwich
Grilled Signature Sriracha Chicken Sandwich Premium Crispy Chicken Deluxe Sandwich
Crispy Signature Sriracha Chicken Sandwich Quarter Pounder® with Cheese
Sweet BBQ Bacon 1/4 lb Burger 3 piece Buttermilk Crispy Chicken Tenders
Grilled Sweet BBQ Bacon Chicken Sandwich 4 piece Buttermilk Crispy Chicken Tenders
Crispy Sweet BBQ Bacon Chicken Sandwich 4 Piece Chicken McNuggets
6 piece Buttermilk Crispy Chicken Tenders 6 Piece Chicken McNuggets
20 Piece Chicken McNuggets 10 Piece Chicken McNuggets
4 piece Sweet N’ Spicy Honey BBQ Glazed Tenders Premium Asian Salad w/o Chicken
6 piece Sweet N’ Spicy Honey BBQ Glazed Tenders Premium Asian Salad w/ Grilled Chicken
Premium Asian Salad w/ Crispy Chicken
Premium Bacon Ranch Salad w/o Chicken
Premium Bacon Ranch Salad w/ Grilled Chicken
Premium Bacon Ranch Salad w/ Crispy Chicken
Premium Southwest Salad w/o Chicken
Premium Southwest Salad w/ Grilled Chicken
Premium Southwest Salad w/ Crispy Chicken

Which Menu Items Should I Order?:

When someone thinks of American food, McDonald’s is immediately brought to mind. The classic burger and fries, ice cream cone, and chicken nuggets were all perfected by McDonald’s. Almost everyone finds themselves at a Mcdonald’s at some point in their lives, so this diagram and tables should help to make an informed decision when ordering at McDonald’s. The 57 menu items that can be found at McDonald’s are categorized into four different clusters based on calories and total fat. The 22 items in the first cluster labeled “Average for Mcdonalds” and displayed in the graph with the army green color have 714.5455 calories on average and 34.59 average grams of total fat. These items would be good choices for someone that is fairly hungry and wants a hearty meal that is not overly rich. The second cluster labeled “The Fattiest and Most Calorie Dense Item on the Menu, and is labeled in bright green on the graph only contains one item. This item is the 20-piece Buttermilk Crispy Chicken Tenders, which contains 2,430 calories, and 141 grams of fat. This item contains over the daily recommended calories for a person, and over four times the recommended amount of fat per day. So, this item is only recommended for someone looking to share the food with someone else, or someone who needs to consume a lot more calories and fat than the average person. The third cluster is labeled Least Fatty/Calorie dense items and contains 29 menu items. This cluster contains the least fatty items on the menu at McDonald’s, shown in blue on the graph. However, the numbers are still rather high. The average calories for this cluster are 383.79 and the average fat is 17.68. So, if you are looking for the least calorie-dense items at McDonald’s, this is the list for you. The final cluster is labeled High Calories and Fat and is shown in purple on the graph. This cluster contains five items and are the highest in fat and calories besides the one item in the second cluster. These items have an average of 1,444 calories and 79.6 grams of total fat. So, if you are looking for a large and very filling meal, these items are a good choice for you.

Looking Over all The Nutrition Facts

What Does This Mean:

While total fat and calories are singled out above, this graph can show you the relationship between seven different health variables that you may be interested in for your health at a fast food restaurant. You can look at the distribution of any of the factors in menu items at Mcdonald’s, for example, in cholesterol, you can see that the purple cluster has the lowest cholesterol than green, but then blue and red overlap quite a bit. You can also look at the relationship between two of the variables, for example, if you look at sugar, you can see that there does not appear to be a very strong association between sugar and any of the other variables, which is explained by the fact that most of the menu items are very low in sugar. Looking at total fat and calories, there appears to be a very linear positive relationship, which is why this relationship is highlighted above, but any of the other relationships can be explored here.

Sonic

Calories and Protein

Graphing Our Clusters:

Defining The Clusters:

Calories Protein Size Withiness cluster
377.5000 18.66667 24 189883.3 1
682.1053 32.78947 19 150000.9 2
1146.0000 47.60000 10 128210.4 3
Low Calorie and Protein Middle Calories and Protein Extremely Calorie and Protein Rich
Jr. Burger Hatch Green Chile Cheeseburger Super Sonic Bacon Double Cheeseburger (w/mayo)
Jr. Chili Cheeseburger Jalapeno Burger Super Sonic Double Cheeseburger W/ Mustard
Jr. Deluxe Burger Jr. Double Cheeseburger Super Sonic Double Cheeseburger W/ Ketchup
Jr. Deluxe Cheeseburger Sonic Bacon Cheeseburger (w/mayo) Super Sonic Double Cheeseburger W/ Mayo
Veggie Burger W/ Ketchup Sonic Burger W/ Mustard Super Sonic Jalapeno Double Cheeseburger
Veggie Burger With Mustard Sonic Burger W/ Ketchup Buffalo Dunked Ultimate Chicken Sandwich
Veggie Burger W/ Mustard Sonic Burger W/ Mayonnaise Garlic Parmesan Dunked Ultimate Chicken Sandwich
Grilled Chicken Sandwich Sonic Cheeseburger W/ Mustard 3 Piece Super Crunch Chicken Strip Dinner
Chicken Strip Sandwich Sonic Cheeseburger W/ Ketchup 4 Piece Super Crunch Chicken Strip Dinner
3 Piece Crispy Chicken Tender Dinner Sonic Cheeseburger W/ Mayonnaise 5 Piece Super Crunch Chicken Strip Dinner
5 Piece Crispy Chicken Tender Dinner Grilled Asiago Caesar Chicken Club Sandwich
Small Jumbo Popcorn Chicken Crispy Asiago Caesar Chicken Club Sandwich
Small Spicy Jumbo Popcorn Chicken Crispy Chicken Sandwich
3 Piece Super Crunch Chicken Strips Deluxe Ultimate Chicken Sandwich
4 Piece Super Crunch Chicken Strips Large Jumbo Popcorn Chicken
Ultimate Chicken Club Large Spicy Jumbo Popcorn Chicken
All Beef All-american Style Dog – 6” 5 Piece Super Crunch Chicken Strips
All Beef Chicago Dog – 6” Traditional Ultimate Chicken Sandwich
All Beef Chili Cheese Coney – 6” Footlong Quarter Pound Coney
All Beef New York Dog – 6”
All Beef Regular Hot Dog – 6”
Cheesy Bacon Pretzel Dog - 6 In.
Corn Dog
The Original Pretzel Dog

Which Menu Items Should I Order?:

Sonic is known for its comedic commercials and unique drive-in setup. However, they also are popular for their greasy fast food. In the graph and tables above, the 53 menu items offered at Sonic are split into three categories based on their calories and protein. The first cluster named, “Low Calorie and Protein” and labeled in green contains the 24 lowest-calorie and protein-rich items on the menu. These items would be a good choice for anyone who is looking for the lightest menu items from Sonic. This cluster has an average calorie count of 377.5 and an average of 18.66 grams of protein. The second cluster, labeled “Middle Calories and Protein” contains the 19 menu items at Sonic that contain the average amount of calories and protein that are offered at Sonic. These items would be a good choice for anyone wanting to leave Sonic to feel full and satisfied and eat plenty of protein to work to fulfill their daily requirement. This cluster is labeled in blue on the graph and has an average of 682.1 calories and 32.789 grams of protein on average. Finally, the last cluster is labeled in purple on the graph and is titled “Extremely Calorie and protein-rich. These 10 menu items are perfect for a customer who is looking to consume a lot of calories and protein. This cluster contains items with an average of 1,146 calories, and 47.6 grams of protein. Hopefully, this list helps you to decide which menu item you would like to order.

Looking Over All The Variables

What Does This Mean:

Even though the above protein and calories are highlighted as descriptors of which menu items one should order, there is a lot more to consider when thinking about your diet. The graph above showcases the distribution of seven different health indicators. Looking at the distributions of the different clusters is very interesting because you can see that most of the clusters show one that is low, one medium, and one high cluster, except for sodium, and sugar. All the menu items appear to be around the same for sodium, and for sugar, there appears to be One group of items that are lower in sugar and two that are about medium in sugar. It is also interesting to note the relationships between each of the variables. It seems that almost every variable is related to one another in a positive way, with sugar and sodium being the least heavily correlated. Calories and protein are highlighted to be compared, because the distribution of protein is interesting with the first cluster being fairly spread out and in protein, then a giant spike of a lot of items being medium in protein, and then again, a fairly spread out distribution of items on the higher end. If you are interested in a more well-rounded description of the menu items at Sonic, this is a great place to start.

Subway

Looking at Calories and Sugar

In 2020, Ireland’s Supreme Court announced its ruling in a years-long legal battle: “Subway bread is not bread.” Under a 1972 law, Ireland deemed that the sugar content of bread cannot exceed 2% of the weight of flour in the dough. Subway bread was found to have a sugar content of about 10%.

Why is this a problem? In the United States, the average adult consumes an estimated 17 teaspoons of sugar each day. That accounts for 14% of total calorie intake in adults following a 2,000-calorie diet. Consuming too much sugar can increases the risk of obesity, diabetes, and heart disease.

Graphing Our Clusters:

Defining The Clusters:

Calories Sugar Size Withiness cluster
250.9302 6.930233 43 364115.6 1
883.4615 15.076923 26 475432.3 2
538.1481 10.333333 27 199921.4 3
Mild Calorie, Mild Sugar Content High Calorie, High Sugar Content Low Calorie, Low Sugar Content
6" B.L.T. Footlong BBQ Rib Sandwich Footlong B.L.T.
Kids Mini Sub Black Forest Ham Footlong Big Hot Pastrami 6" BBQ Rib Sandwich
6" Black Forest Ham Footlong Big Philly Cheesesteak 6" Big Hot Pastrami
6" Carved Turkey Footlong Carved Turkey & Bacon w/ Cheese 6" Big Philly Cheesesteak
6" Cold Cut Combo Footlong Chicken & Bacon Ranch Melt Footlong Black Forest Ham
6" Oven Roasted Chicken Footlong Chicken Pizziola Melt Footlong Carved Turkey
Kids Mini Sub Roast Beef Footlong Cold Cut Combo 6" Carved Turkey & Bacon w/ Cheese
6" Roast Beef Footlong Corned Beef Reuben 6" Chicken & Bacon Ranch Melt
6" Rotisserie Style Chicken Footlong Italian B.M.T. 6" Chicken Pizziola Melt
6" Steak and Cheese Footlong Italian Hero 6" Corned Beef Reuben
6" Subway Club Footlong Meatball Marinara 6" Italian B.M.T.
6" Subway Melt (includes cheese) Footlong Spicy Italian 6" Italian Hero
6" Sweet Onion Chicken Teriyaki Footlong Steak and Cheese 6" Meatball Marinara
6" Turkey & Bacon Avocado Footlong Subway Melt (includes cheese) Footlong Oven Roasted Chicken
Kids Mini Sub Turkey Breast Footlong Subway Seafood Sensation Footlong Roast Beef
6" Turkey Breast Footlong Sweet Onion Chicken Teriyaki Footlong Rotisserie Style Chicken
6" Turkey Breast & Ham Footlong Tuna 6" Spicy Italian
Kids Mini Sub Veggie Delite Footlong Turkey & Bacon Avocado Footlong Subway Club
6" Veggie Delite Footlong Turkey Italiano Melt (with Provolone) 6" Subway Seafood Sensation
6" Veggie Patty Footlong Veggie Patty 6" Tuna
Autumn Carved Turkey Salad Chipotle Southwest Steak & Cheese Wrap Footlong Turkey Breast
B.L.T. Salad Rotisserie-Style Chicken Caesar Wrap Footlong Turkey Breast & Ham
Big Philly Cheesesteak Salad Turkey, Bacon & Guacamole Wrap 6" Turkey Italiano Melt (with Provolone)
Black Forest Ham Salad Cheese & Veggies Pizza Footlong Veggie Delite
Buffalo Chicken Salad (with Ranch dressing) Pepperoni Pizza Big Hot Pastrami Melt Salad
Carved Turkey & Bacon w/ Cheese Salad Sausage Pizza Chicken & Bacon Ranch Melt Salad (includes Ranch dressing)
Carved Turkey Salad Cheese Pizza
Cold Cut Combo Salad
Double Chicken Salad
Italian B.M.T.® Salad
Italian Hero Salad
Meatball Marinara Salad
Oven Roasted Chicken Salad
Roast Beef Salad
Spicy Italian Salad
Steak & Cheese Salad
Subway Club Salad
Subway Melt® Salad
Sweet Onion Chicken Teriyaki Salad
Tuna Salad
Turkey Breast & Ham Salad
Turkey Breast Salad
Veggie Delite Salad
##   calories     sugar
## 1 250.9302  6.930233
## 2 883.4615 15.076923
## 3 538.1481 10.333333

Which Menu Items Should I Order?:

Although an order at Subway can be highly customized, the visualizations above take a look at 96 items on their menu. We can split them into three categories based on their calories and sugar content. The first group, “Mild Calorie, Mild Sugar Content”, is red on the scatterplot. It’s worth noting that, although these options might be good for someone aiming for a calorie-deficit, there is a lot of variabiltiy in the sugar content - so one should choose wisely. This cluster has an average calorie count of 538 and an average of 10 grams of sugar.

The second cluster, labeled “High Calorie, High Sugar Content” are items at Subway that you might want to avoid for a more health-conscious diet. These are colored green on our scatterplot. Most notably, the Footlong Sweet Onion Chicken Teriyakiis the item with the highest sugar-level. The sugar content in this single item is almost double the suggested daily sugar intake amount. This cluster has an average of 883 calories and 15 grams of sugar on average.

Finally, the last cluster is blue on the graph and is titled “Low Calorie, Low Sugar Content”. These menu items are perfect for someone who is looking to consume a meal that is light in calories, while staying below the suggested daily sugar intake. The variation in this group is key: there are salads, meat-based sandwiches, and veggie sandwiches. This cluster contains items with an average of 251 calories, and 7 grams of sugar.

Taco Bell

Conclusion

Click a point on the map to learn more about the restaurant located there.

References